Insulated hanger assembly

ABSTRACT

An insulated hanger assembly for supporting an insulated pipe or the like, comprising a hanger member including a metal bracket, adapted to surround and directly contact an exposed, bared section of the pipe between sections of conventional insulation and a rod that extends from the bracket to secure it to a support. A premolded, insulating shell encompasses at least a part of the rod or other interconnecting means and extends around at least part of the strap, to cover and insulate such parts. Also the shell is shaped to fit adjacent the bared section of the pipe to insulate it, and preferably overlaps and engages contiguous portions of the conventional pipe insulation.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Jerome E. Bindel 6208 MeadowbrookAve., Cleveland, Ohio 44144 [21] AppLNo. 832,595 [22] Filed June 12,1969[45] Patented Apr. 20, 1971 [54] INSULATED HANGER ASSEMBLY 9 Claims, 4Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 138/107, 138/149, 248/62 [51] lnt.Cl. F161 3/08 [50]FieldofSearch 138/107, 149; 248/60, 62, 63, 74

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,215,283 9/1940 Adlerl38/l07X 3,006,674 10/1961 Becker.... 248/62X 3,185,758 5/1965 Litz248/62X Primary Examiner-Herbert F. Ross Alt0mey-Bosworth, Sessions,l-lerrstrom and Cain ABSTRACT: An insulated hanger assembly forsupporting an insulated pipe or the like, comprising a hanger memberincluding a metal bracket, adapted to surround and directly contact anexposed, bared section of the pipe between sections of conventionalinsulation and a rod that extends from the bracket to secure it to asupport. A premolded, insulating shell encompasses at least a part ofthe rod or other interconnecting means and extends around at least partof the strap, to cover and insulate such parts. Also the shell is shapedto fit adjacent the bared section of the pipe to insulate it, andpreferably overlaps and engages contiguous portions of the conventionalpipe insulation.

PATENTED men |97l INVENTOR. JEROME E. BINDEL BY Mi /111%, Loam, $52K,Q1,

ATTORNEYS.

ll INSIJLA'IIIEID lllANGlEllt xssraMatx BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a hanger assembly for suspending pipes ofthe like having a covering of insulating material, in which assembly theinsulation is not crushed and in which the assembly itself is at leastpartially heat insulated.

In many industrial applications, various pipes, conduits, tubes and thelike are designed to convey hot or cold materials such as steam, hotoil, a coolant, refrigerant, chilled water, etc. It is common practiceto insulate such pipes not only to maintain the conveyed material asnear as possible to desired temperature, but also, in the case of coldmaterials, to prevent sweating" which occurs because of condensation ofambient moisture on a cool pipe surface, sometimes with attendantrusting of parts.

To achieve a maximum insulating effect, it has been the usual practiceto insulate the entire length of the pipe and place a hanger on theoutside in contact with the insulation. Consequently, the insulationitself acts as a structural member in supporting the pipe. The portionsof such hangers contacting the insulation normally are of relativelynarrow width, resulting in large stress concentrations over a small areaof the insulation. Since themial pipe insulation is by nature porous andfragile, the concentration of pressures over a relatively small areafrequently crushes the insulation. In time, often aided by vibration orjarring of the pipe, the crushed area continues to deteriorate, formingnot only an unsightly appearance but, more seriously, materiallyreducing the desired insulating effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one form of the presentinvention, a strap or band type of hanger bracket passes around anexposed or bared section of an insulated pipe to make direct contactwith it. In this manner, the pipe insulation is not used as a structuralmember and is never either in compression or tension. To provide a baredsection, the pipe insulation may be cut away, or the insulation may beotherwise spaced apart to leave the exposed section of pipe. A hangerrod or shank extends from the bracket to secure it to a ceiling or otheroverhead support. A premolded, insulating shell, preferably of foamed orcellular resinous material, covers a substantial portion, if not all, ofthe hanger rod and extends around the bracket to cover and therebyinsulate it. The insulating shell is shaped to fill and thereby alsoinsulate the balance of the exposed, bared section of the insulate pipe.In a preferred form, the insulated shell is shaped to extend over andrest upon contiguous portions of the spaced apart sections of theinsulation totally to enclose the bracket and a portion of the rod.

in a modified form, the insulating shell extends only part way, forexample about half way, around a pipe to enclose the upper portion ofthe strap type supporting bracket and at least part of rod or shankmember. In this case also, the separate, premolded insulator may fitover the ends of the nonnal insulation encasing the pipe but which isspacedapart to form the bare area. A shape-conforming section ofinsulating material then encloses the lower part of the exposed sectionof the pipe and the bracket and meets the premolded insulating part towhich it is secured, as by gluing, in order completely to enclose thebracket and exposed section of the pipe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings illustrateembodiments of the invention in which:

FIG. I is a plan view of an insulated pipe having an insulated hangerassembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the pipe and hanger assembly of FIG. 11and shows a rod attachment to a support;

FIG. 3 is a partial section of FIG. 2 on the line 3-3; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevation similar to FIG. 2 but illustrates a modifiedform of the insulated hanger assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to FIGS. Ithrough 3, the embodiment illustrated includes pipe I having abuttingarcuate sections of standard insulation 2, such as magnesia, fiberglass, or asbestos insulation. Either by cutting out an annular sectionof the insulation 2 or by spacing apart preformed sections of theinsulation, an exposed bared section 3 is formed. A metal strap or band4 is closed upon itself and secured as by welding or bolts to form ahanger bracket generally indicated at 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the brackethas a curved bottom section 5 matching the curvature of the pipe 1 andin which the pipe 1 nests; and a top section formed of straight sidesdefining a horizontal section 6 which is vertically spaced from theupper portion of the pipe. A shank member such as a rod 7 secures thehanger bracket 4 to an overhead support. In the form illustrated, therod 7 has threaded ends, one of which passes through a suitable openingin the horizontal section 6 of the hanger member, and the other of whichpasses through a suitable opening in a plate 8 which may be part of aceiling, sill, or the like. At each end of the rod 7, a pair ofcooperating conventional nuts 10 straddle the horizontal bracket section6 and the plate 8, respectively, to lock the rod 7 rigidly with respectto those parts.

A premolded insulating shell generally represented at 11 comprises twocooperating, joined sections, namely at upper section 12 and a lowersection 13. Each section preferably consists of a foamed resinousmaterial, such as foamed polystyrene, foamed polyesters, and the like.If desired, such materials may be reinforced with glass fibers. Anespecially preferred insulation is foamed, closed-celled resinousmaterials like polyurethane and synthetic rubbers, such as Buna S andBuna N rubbers, which not only have desirable heat-insulating propertiesbut resist absorption of moisture in view of their closed-celledstructures.

Upper section 12 has a general U-shape with downwardly extending legs Mwhich gradually narrow in thickness. A central or bright portion I5 hasan opening to pass the rod 7 and sides which extend to the pipe I and,in cooperation with the legs 14, terminate in a convex curvaturematching that of the insulated pipe, so as to seat snugly on theinsulation transversely of the pipe. lntemally of section 12, the twoopposite sides of the central portion 15 are spaced so as to define apocket I6 (FIG. 3) to house the upper portion of the bracket d andespecially the horizontal band 6.

It will be noted that in this form of the invention, the pocket 16fonned within upper section 12 is of such width that the sectionstraddles the open or bared section 3 on the pipe and rests uponcontiguous portions of the insulation 2.

Lower section I3 is substantially, uniformly U-shaped to fit around thecurved bottom section 5 of the bracket 4 and abuts against the ends oflegs 14 of the upper section so as preferably to form a smoothcontinuation thereof. The two sections I2 and 13 may be suitably joinedtogether as by gluing or taping together the joined ends.

As' shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3, section 13 preferably has an inwardlyraised semicircular band 17 of such size as to fit over the curvedbottom section 5 of the bracket 4 and till the balance of the bareopening 3 around the pipe 1. In the form illustrated, section 113 alsohas semiannular wings 16 extending in opposite directions from thesemicircular band 17 and covering the contiguous portions of the pipeinsulation 2 to a degree necessary to align its vertical sides withthose of the upper section 12 and thereby provide a desired smoothcontinuation.

If desired, an additional, tubular insulating section 9 may be used tocover any part of the rod 7 not covered by section 12. Section 9 may becomposed of the same materials as section 112 or 13.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modification in which substantially all of theparts of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 3 except the lower section113 have been used and are therefore indicated by like referencenumerals. In place of section 13, a semicircular fill section 20 ofstandard insulation, which may be of the same type as insulation 2, iscut to fit over the curved bottom section 5 of the bracket 4 and shapedto fill and insulate the balance of the bared pipe section 3. Preferablythe outside diameter of fill section is substantially the same as thatof the insulated pipe 1, so that there is a smooth, continuous outersurface as illustrated in FIG. 4.

In either embodiment, the bracket 4 bears the weight of the pipe 1 andinsulation 2 without in any degree transmitting the weight to theinsulation. Yet the present hanger assembly is itself insulatedincluding a substantial portion, if not all, of the hanger rod or shankportion and thereby avoids undesirable loss of heat through conductanceand/or radiations even though the hanger directly contacts the barepipe. In a like manner, the present hanger assembly obviates the use ofsaddles or similar support members designed to bear against the outsideof pipe insulation and which often lead to crushing of the insulationand loss of insulating value.

ln one form, a premolded insulator encloses at least a portion of thehanger rod or the like and the entire circumferential area of the pipeembraced by a bracket, with portions of the insulator overlapping andresting upon conventional insulation covering adjacent parts of thepipe. In another form of the invention, the preformed insulator enclosesat least part of the hanger rod and overlaps adjacent portions of theconventional insulation but extends only partially around the pipe. Inthis case, a cutout insulating insert is fitted into the remainingexposed pipe area, completely to insulate the balance of the uncoveredhanger strap and pipe.

Although such terms as upper, lower, horizontal, vertical, and the likehave been used herein, it is understood that these terms are used onlyin a relative sense; for example, with respect to the disposition of thepipe and parts as illustrated by FIGS. 1 through 3.

While the foregoing describes several embodiments of the invention, itis understood that other modifications may be made within the scope ofthe following claims.

lclaim:

1. Apparatus of the character described for supporting and insulating apipe or the like having a layer of insulation surrounding said pipe andalso having an exposed bared section free of said layer of insulationbetween adjacent sections of insulation layer, said apparatus comprisinga hanger member including a bracket with the inner surface thereofcontacting and bearing against substantially the axial extent of saidexposed bared section of said pipe, a shank portion extending from thebracket adapted to secure said bracket to a support, and a preformedinsulating shell encompassing at least part of said shank portion andextending entirely around said bracket completely to cover and insulatesaid encompassed part of said shank portion and said bracket, and tocover and insulate said bared section of the pipe, said preformedinsulating shell being of a size to extend longitudinally of the pipe onboth sides of said bared section and overlap and engage contiguousportions of said adjacent sections of insulating layer on the pipe, 50that the bared portion of the pipe, said bracket and said encompassedpart of said shank portion are substantially completely insulatedagainst heat transfer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bracket is formed from a metalstrap, and said shank portion is secured to the upper portion of saidbracket.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bracket is formed by metalstrap, said shank portion is secured to the upper portion of saidbracket, and said premolded insulating shell has a pocket to house saidupper portion of said bracket.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premolded, insulating shellcomprises a foamed resinous composition.

5 The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premolded insulating shellcomprises a closed-celled, foamed resinous material selected from thegroup consisting of polyurethane and buna rubbers.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premolded,

insulating shell comprises two mating sections extending longitudinallyof the pipe and secured together.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premolded, insulating shell isadapted to extend only part way around said hanger member, and saidapparatus includes an insulating section shaped to insulate the balanceof said bared section of the pipe and secured to said bared section ofthe pipe and secured to said insulating shell.

8. In combination: an insulated pipe or the like having an exposed,bared section between sections of insulation, and an insulated hangerassembly comprising a metal strap shaped essentially in the form of abracket and substantially the entire axial extent of said bared sectionof the pipe, a shank portion extending from the bracket capable ofsecuring said metal strap with respect to a support, and a premolded,insulating shell of cellular material encompassing at least part of saidshank portion and substantially completely covering the exterior of saidmetal strap to insulate it, said shell being shaped to fill the baredsection on the pipe and to extend over and contact contiguous portionsof said sections of insulation.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said preformed insulating shelloverlaps and engages said contiguous portions of said sections of pipeinsulating layer throughout the circumferences of said sections.

1. Apparatus of the character described for supporting and insulating apipe or the like having a layer of insulation surrounding said pipe andalso having an exposed bared section free of said layer of insulationbetween adjacent sections of insulation layer, said apparatus comprisinga hanger member including a bracket with the inner surface thereofcontacting and bearing against substantially the axial extent of saidexposed bared section of said pIpe, a shank portion extending from thebracket adapted to secure said bracket to a support, and a preformedinsulating shell encompassing at least part of said shank portion andextending entirely around said bracket completely to cover and insulatesaid encompassed part of said shank portion and said bracket, and tocover and insulate said bared section of the pipe, said preformedinsulating shell being of a size to extend longitudinally of the pipe onboth sides of said bared section and overlap and engage contiguousportions of said adjacent sections of insulating layer on the pipe, sothat the bared portion of the pipe, said bracket and said encompassedpart of said shank portion are substantially completely insulatedagainst heat transfer.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bracketis formed from a metal strap, and said shank portion is secured to theupper portion of said bracket.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein saidbracket is formed by metal strap, said shank portion is secured to theupper portion of said bracket, and said premolded insulating shell has apocket to house said upper portion of said bracket.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein said premolded, insulating shell comprises a foamedresinous composition.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premoldedinsulating shell comprises a closed-celled, foamed resinous materialselected from the group consisting of polyurethane and buna rubbers. 6.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premolded, insulating shellcomprises two mating sections extending longitudinally of the pipe andsecured together.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said premolded,insulating shell is adapted to extend only part way around said hangermember, and said apparatus includes an insulating section shaped toinsulate the balance of said bared section of the pipe and secured tosaid bared section of the pipe and secured to said insulating shell. 8.In combination: an insulated pipe or the like having an exposed, baredsection between sections of insulation, and an insulated hanger assemblycomprising a metal strap shaped essentially in the form of a bracket andsubstantially the entire axial extent of said bared section of the pipe,a shank portion extending from the bracket capable of securing saidmetal strap with respect to a support, and a premolded, insulating shellof cellular material encompassing at least part of said shank portionand substantially completely covering the exterior of said metal strapto insulate it, said shell being shaped to fill the bared section on thepipe and to extend over and contact contiguous portions of said sectionsof insulation.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said preformedinsulating shell overlaps and engages said contiguous portions of saidsections of pipe insulating layer throughout the circumferences of saidsections.